Josh McNary, Army's all-time sacks leader, is a commissioned officer

Every team needs great leaders. The Colts most assuredly have found one in linebacker Josh McNary.

After graduating from West Point in 2011, McNary was commissioned as an officer in the Army and therefore could not be selected in the NFL Draft that year.

Now, he’s back on the field after being taken off the reserve-military list and re-instated to the active roster. McNary was signed in April as a free agent, but hasn’t played a down of football in two years.

The 6-0, 251-pound linebacker is the Army’s all-time leader in sacks with 28 and tackles for loss with 49. He finished his career there with 195 tackles, nine passes defended, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. Then he became an Army lieutenant.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence after getting in shape and after seeing the progress I’ve made physically and knowing what I’m capable of, given my instincts on the field,” McNary said in April. “I’m very optimistic and pretty confident of what I bring to a team.”

This isn’t just a feel-good story. The Colts let Dwight Freeney go in free agency. Robert Mathis is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and ranks No. 2 in club history with 91.5 sacks. He’s 32 and entering his 11th season but remains one of the league’s most relentless and disruptive pass rushers. Mathis is moving from strongside linebacker to Freeney’s rush-linebacker spot to better accentuate his skills.

Erik Walden has just nine sacks in 68 career games. First-round pick Bjoern Werner could make an early impact. But the bottom line is that there is an opportunity for McNary to contribute.

He has spent the past several months working out in Fort Hood, Texas, where he was stationed for the final six months of his commitment that ended May 21. Prior to that, he stayed on the West Point campus and worked as a graduate assistant coach. When that ended, he went to officer’s training for six months and then to Fort Hood.

McNary followed his grandfathers, father and uncle into the military after his biggest college football offer came from a Division II program. Instead of going that route, he went to West Point.

“It was only when I arrived at West Point that decided to pick football back up because it was so convenient,” McNary told reporters in April. “It wasn’t going to conflict with my aspiration to be an officer or my job in any way.”